Dugan Fire Burns South of Ekalaka
Incident: Dugan Fire Wildfire
Released: 9/15/2012
Ekalaka, MT... The now 3,200 acre Dugan Fire was discovered Friday, September 14 burning about five miles south and west of Ekalaka, Montana near Dugan Draw. The fire came within one and a half miles of the town of Ekalaka last night before a wind shift pushed the fire south. The cause of this fire is currently unknown.
The Dugan Fire is burning on private land and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Forest Service managed lands in the southern and western portion of the Ekalaka Hills. Resources on scene include three engine strike teams, one handcrew, eight smokejumpers, one engine task force, two dozers and two graders.
Currently the fire is predominantly burning in grass, shrubs and ponderosa pine on the Custer National Forest. There are multiple structures and resources at risk including primary residences adjacent to the national forest boundary, two radio towers, Ekalaka Park Campground, and Camp Needmore. The Forest Service has implemented an area closure that includes all National Forest System lands from the Chalk Buttes Highway on the west and north side to the Pershing Cutoff Road on the south side and on the east side to Highway 323. This area closure does not include private land or land managed by other agencies.
A Type III Montana DNRC County Assist Team will take over management of the Dugan Fire this evening. For more information please visit the Dugan Fire online at http://www.inciweb.org/.
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